Yggdrasil, or the Tree of Life
The world tree, the Yggdrasil, represented by an evergreen ash tree, will represent the Cosmos, the newly created cosmos.
This tree is a representation of all life, both organic and inorganic and in it is expressed the cycle of life and death and other universal principles. The tree is a representation of the Axis Mundi, which sustains and unites all that is and all that exists.
The celestial plane, formed by the branches that reach the sky, the invisible plane of the underworld, where the tree is rooted and the intermediate level of the surface, where life, as we know it now, exists and where humans will live and die, will then be the three planes of the universe.
Nine worlds
The nine worlds that are linked between the roots and branches of the Yggdrasil are home to the seven living beings listed in the Eddas:
- Asgard is the realm of the gods (lord).
- Helheim is the realm of the dead
- Svartalfaheim is the home of the dark elves and dwarves
- Niflheim is the home of darkness and terror
- Jötunheim is the home of the giants
- Midgard is the home of humans (also known as Mannheim)
- Vanaheim is the home of the Vanir (ancient deities of the natural forces)
- Alfheim is the home
Yggdrasil has three main roots
One reaches the realm of the Sir, which is the location of the Urder spring (spring of life).
The second root reaches the home of the giants or wizards in the high mountains, where the Mimmer spring is located, which contains the wisdom that lasts forever and which Odin promised to drink.
Nidhögg the serpent-dragon will nibble at the third root, which leads to the region of darkness and ice, where flows the spring Hvergelmir, the source of the icy rivers and the roaring cauldron of human passions.
This ” roaring cauldron ” from which the fearful serpent is nourished is understood as representing human life on Earth, on the densest plane of its manifestation, where it is subject to all the passions born of ignorance and unsatisfied desires.
It is the condition in which a person lives solely on his passions and selfish desires, the “hell in life”, where unpurified thoughts and feelings will feed the dreaded serpent.
The Midgard snake
Also known as Jörmundgander, which encircles the Yggdrasil while biting its tail, it serves as the boundary of the cosmos. Thor will fight this foe at Ragnarok or the end of time, as its poisonous breath endangers all life.
The Tree is also crowned by an unnamed eagle, which is a sign of the exalted and the one that has the most contact with the Sun in almost all cultures.
Eagles can see the landscape with breadth while concentrating on a particular goal. Snakes led by Nidhögg are present at the lowest part of the tree and actively bite the roots of the tree.
Ratatoskr, a squirrel that lives in the trunk of the tree, travels up and down to communicate with the other three worlds. He is the owner of Midgard and descends to observe what is happening at the roots before climbing to the top to report back to the eagle.
The three Norns
All three Norns are in charge of guarding the World Tree. Each day, they draw water from the Urdhr spring to saturate the roots of the tree.
Their names are Urdhr, Verdandi and Skuld, representing the past, present and future. These three Norns, who resemble the three Morias of ancient Greece, weave what has happened, what is happening and what is to come.
They are the weavers of the destiny of all creatures that inhabit Yggdrasil.
This tree will be the source of life for all creation
In general, vegetables are a representation of life, upward movement and metamorphosis. The tree receives nourishment from the invisible world, grows in the visible world and its branches rise towards the light of the Sun.
The trunk eventually becomes the third component connecting earth and heaven. Humans will be made in the image and likeness of the Macrocosm, Yggdrasil and as such, they will be a Microcosm that will absorb its essence and grow in three dimensions, deliberately linking Heaven and Earth…